Naruto: Building a Genius Persona Chapter 154 154: Seizing the Flag

The three hundred elite shinobi from Sunagakure behind him had already been shaken off to so extent. After all, not everyone possessed a freakish speed like Swift Release—while the jōnin could still keep up, the chūnin had long since been left far behind, forced to continue the pursuit based only on a general direction.

But Pakura herself clung to him like a burr—impossible to shake off no matter what.

Even so, Shinichi had no intention whatsoever of stopping to entangle himself with her.

Once he got caught by Pakura—even for just ten short seconds—the dozens of Sunagakure jōnin behind would swarm in and complete the encirclent.

At that point, what he would be facing would be Pakura, who possessed both Scorch Release and Swift Release, combined with dozens of experienced, well-coordinated Sunagakure jōnin, along with over two hundred elite chūnin arriving shortly after.

Even though he had imnse confidence in the strength of this "Isshin" clone, which had fused traits of the Monkey King Enma's bloodline, going head-on against one Pakura plus dozens of jōnin and those two hundred-plus chūnin behind them was absolutely not a wise choice.

His objective had never been to defeat Pakura or this elite Sunagakure unit.

It was to draw them away, delay them, and exhaust them.

To firmly pin down this ace assault force—capable of changing the tide of a local battlefield, even potentially delivering a fatal blow to Konoha's defensive line—right behind him.

And while he was at it, to further reinforce the image he had so carefully built—"protective of comrades, willing to take responsibility, ready to sacrifice himself"—adding another bold, undeniable stroke to it.

Thinking this, Shinichi flicked his gaze backward. That trailing afterimage remained tightly on his heels—Pakura's straight-line speed was slightly inferior to his, but in terms of directional agility, she far surpassed his current self.

'I need to find a way to improve my reaction speed.'

Shinichi thought to himself.

With the support of various Entries, his raw physical stats—pure strength, speed, stamina, chakra capacity—had already reached an extrely high level. Especially with this clone under Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his burst speed in a straight-line charge could even surpass Pakura's Swift Release by a margin.

But "being able to reach a certain speed" and "being able to perfectly control that speed" were two completely different things.

It was like a supercar equipped with a top-tier engine and transmission—if the driver's neural response, dynamic vision, and hand-eye coordination couldn't keep up, driving slowly posed no problem, even moderate speed was manageable. But the mont the accelerator was pushed to the limit and speed reached its peak, the steering would start to drift, and the brakes would lag.

Those tiny, fleeting delays in reaction, under extre speed, would be magnified infinitely.

Shinichi's current situation was exactly that.

Right now, he possessed blue-tier Entries like "Sword Master," "Rending Stone and Splitting tal," "Copper Skin and Iron Bones," and "Light as the Wind," which enhanced his physical foundation and specifically boosted speed. He also had powerful auxiliary Entries like "Spirit Sense" and "Clear Comprehension and Thorough Insight," which improved perception and cognitive processing speed.

In regular combat, these abilities complented each other perfectly, allowing him to handle situations with ease.

However, once he entered this kind of ultra-high-speed domain—where both sides pushed their speed to the absolute limit, and life and death were decided in fractions of a second—the problem beca apparent.

Because the foundational aspects that made up "instant reaction"—his neural reflex speed, dynamic visual tracking limits, and so on—had not received the sa kind of specialized, substantial enhancent as his physical body.

They had improved alongside his overall physical growth, but the increase was nowhere near as dramatic as that of strength, speed, or stamina.

It was only because Shinichi had long been aware of this issue and had consciously trained in this area during his daily practice that this shortcoming hadn't been further amplified.

He had also considered whether he could generate a specialized Entry to enhance reaction speed by shaping the appropriate persona. But reaction speed itself was a relatively abstract ability.

The perception of reaction speed was difficult for outsiders to accurately grasp and solidify, and it was easily lumped into the broader category of "Agility." Especially since Shinichi didn't possess any dōjutsu-type kekkei genkai, even if he displayed exceptional reaction ability, it couldn't be precisely recognized by others.

So, despite having long intended to strengthen this aspect and generate a corresponding Entry, he still hadn't obtained one that specifically enhanced reaction speed.

'Let's see if I can draw an Entry focused on reaction in the future.'

Shinichi thought.

If not…

Then at that point, perhaps he could—

Whoosh!

A sharp tearing sound suddenly rang out!

In the instant his thoughts drifted, a blade-like wind slash grazed past his shoulder, tearing through his clothes. Yet this attack—capable of slicing through steel—left only a shallow mark on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Pakura's eyes trembled for a mont.

What the hell was this kid's body made of?!

Then she sneered coldly.

"Brat! You actually dare zone out at a ti like this!?"

Shinichi didn't turn back. He simply locked onto a direction, lightning flaring around his body once more as his speed surged past its limit again, continuing his high-speed dash forward.

That direction… was toward the main camp?

Pakura froze for a mont, then a glint flashed through her eyes.

Once they reached the vicinity of the main camp—even though the main forces had already been deployed, there were still garrison troops remaining. Combined with their pursuing force, they could attack from both front and rear.

This kid wouldn't be able to escape even with wings!

…

Sunagakure Main Camp.

Compared to the thunderous battle cries and chaos at the front lines, this place was relatively quiet.

The vast majority of combat shinobi had already marched out with the army, participating in the full-scale assault on Kikyō Pass. Those left behind in the camp were mostly the wounded, a small number of guard units, logistics personnel, and so command staff and communication shinobi.

Two Sunagakure chūnin stood on guard, occasionally glancing toward the direction of Kikyō Pass with worry.

"Senpai… do you think the village can take Kikyō Pass this ti?" the younger chūnin on the left asked in a low voice.

"We have ten thousand n. Konoha only has eight thousand—there shouldn't be a problem, right?" the older chūnin on the right replied, though his tone lacked full confidence.

Before his words had even fallen—

A piercing, ear-splitting screech—like countless birds shrieking at once right beside the ear—tore through the air from afar, closing in at a terrifying speed toward the camp!

"What was that sound?!"

The two of them jerked their heads up in shock. At the edge of their vision, a streak of blue-white lightning was racing toward them at a horrifying speed. Only upon closer inspection could one make out a human figure within the lightning, holding a long staff.

"W-What is that?!"

"Enemy attack!!"

The alarm had barely left their mouths when that blue-white bolt had already slamd into the edge of the camp!

"Stop him!!!" Pakura's furious voice ca from behind.

The two Sunagakure chūnin trembled all over, instinctively trying to form hand seals—but it was already too late.

Boom!!!

A violent shockwave blasted outward, sending the two guards at the camp gate flying straight off their feet!

Imdiately after, that figure didn't slow in the slightest. The ground beneath his feet exploded as he shot skyward!

Gripping the staff with both hands, Shinichi rode the montum of his ascent, his body tracing an arc through the air.

His gaze was like lightning, locking firmly onto the largest and most conspicuous tent below—the one that symbolized Sunagakure's command center—the Kazekage Command Headquarters!

In the next instant, he snapped his hips into the motion, his arms tightening like coiled springs as he raised the Adamantine Staff high overhead—and then brought it crashing down!

As the staff descended, the Adamantine Staff in his hands expanded violently with the wind, its length surging from ordinary size to over a dozen ters, then dozens of ters—becoming a true sky-piercing pillar!

Rumble—!!!

An indescribably terrifying roar erupted!

With the command tent at the center, the ground within a hundred-ter radius collapsed and tore apart as if struck head-on by a teor!

A violent shockwave spread outward in a ring, shredding and flinging tents like paper. Those Sunagakure personnel who failed to escape in ti were hurled into the air by the blast, their screams completely drowned out by the thunderous explosion.

Broken stone, dust, splinters, and debris—all were swept up by this destructive force and blasted skyward, forming a small mushroom cloud of smoke and dust!

And above the command center, that high-flying banner—the one that symbolized Sunagakure's dignity and command authority—snapped violently, flung upward into the air, only to be seized firmly by a steady, powerful hand.

Dust billowed, obscuring all sight—a scene like the end of the world.

Damn it!

Pakura's figure arrived at the very edge of the explosion at the last mont, only to be checked briefly by the violent shockwave.

At that mont, a clear, calm voice—almost carrying a hint of teasing—cut through the fading roar and howling wind, ringing distinctly in her ears, as if echoing across the suddenly deathly silent Sunagakure camp.

"Pakura-senpai, thanks for seeing off all this way. I'll be taking Sunagakure's banner now!"

Pakura's eyes locked onto the densest part of the dust cloud, trying to capture that damned figure—but the smoke was too thick. Her vision was completely blocked. That brat seed to have lted into the gray haze itself—she couldn't see him at all!

"Pakura-sama!"

From behind, hurried footsteps approached.

The dozens of jōnin had finally arrived, followed closely by the three Red Eye clan mbers, panting heavily.

"Hurry!" Pakura snapped without turning her head. "You three—find him! Where is that brat?!"

The three Red Eye clansn activated their dōjutsu simultaneously. Eerie crimson light flickered within the dust as they scanned the devastated camp with everything they had.

"Pakura-sama…"

The one in the lead, Dōmaru, slowly opened his eyes. His expression was extrely complicated—there was even a trace of confusion.

"He's gone."

Pakura spun around sharply, staring at him.

"Gone? What do you an, gone?!"

Dōmaru gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"He's just… gone, Pakura-sama."

"My Red Eye… can't detect his chakra at all. It's as if… he never existed in the first place."

Pakura froze.

She stood there, staring at the smoking ruins, at the place where the banner representing Sunagakure should have been—but was now nowhere to be seen.

At the sa ti—

In another concealed corner—

Shinichi's true body took the Sunagakure banner from the Isshin clone. Looking at the scorch marks blackening the fabric and the torn edges left by the explosion, a faint smile curved at his lips.

Another military rit secured.

No one knew how many years ninjas had existed, yet in the conduct of war, many habits from ancient battlefields were still preserved.

Flags were one of them.

Even in this era, though flags no longer held practical command functions—communication between shinobi had far more advanced ans, such as ninja hawks, transmission ninjutsu, portable radio devices, and so on—they still possessed irreplaceable symbolic aning.

They were the anchor of morale.

The embodint of fighting spirit.

The face of a faction upon the battlefield.

For example, during the later Five Kage Summit, each Kage and their representatives stood with the flag of their respective hidden village behind them.

That great banner of Sunagakure had originally flown high above the command center, symbolizing the village's command authority in this war, symbolizing the power of Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, and symbolizing the unity and morale of the Sunagakure army.

And now—it was in Shinichi's hands.

Of course, it didn't actually do much. It wouldn't cause Sunagakure's shinobi to instantly lose their combat capability, wouldn't collapse Rasa's command structure on the spot, and wouldn't make their forces fall apart without a fight.

But it was a symbol.

A symbol that could be written into battle reports, spread across the rear lines, and beco sothing everyone would talk about with relish.

In other words, Shinichi had now achieved the rit of seizing the enemy's banner.

He carefully rolled up the flag and stored it into a storage scroll.

Once he handed it in after the war, it would be enough to boast about for years.

As for what expressions those Sunagakure people had right now—Shinichi smiled and didn't bother to think about it.

Turning around, he dashed toward the direction of Kikyō Pass.

The battle over there… was about to end as well.

---

I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon/TitoVillar

---